Why Big E Hasn’t Been On WWE Television, Explained
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It has nearly been an entire year since Big E last appeared on WWE programming. His final match came on the March 11 2022 episode of WWE SmackDown, and he hasn’t competed since. The New Day have been lacking a member, and there may be some fans who are interested in knowing where exactly Big E is, and when or if he is coming back to WWE television. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding the former WWE, Intercontinental, and multi-time Tag Team Champions absence isn’t all that great. It has been an injury that has kept Big E from appearing in WWE, one which very nearly had catastrophic ramifications.
Big E’s 2022 Started Off In A Poor Way
At the start of 2022, Big E was reigning as the WWE Champion, though despite fans being thoroughly overjoyed by the fact that he had overcome the odds to win the big one, his booking left a to be desired. After losing the WWE Title in very underwhelming fashion at the Day 1 PPV in a match involving Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens, he was removed from the main event and shunned back to the tag team division alongside The New Day.
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Sure, it was nice seeing Big E back with his pals, but it was a shame to see his time in the main event scene and world title picture brought to an unceremonious end, especially since he had so much potential to be a top star in WWE. It very much felt as though luck was not on the side of Big E at this point, as everything had been going against him from a booking perspective. He’d barely had any proper feuds whilst reigning as the WWE Champion, and didn’t have too many stand out victories either. His luck would take a further step in a poor direction during WrestleMania season, where he suffered an injury that would keep him out of the ring indefinitely.
Big E Suffered A Broken Neck On SmackDown
In the lead-up to WrestleMania 38, the trio of The New Day were feuding with The Brawling Brutes, with the two teams looking to do battle at the Showcase of the Immortals. During a tag team match on SmackDown, in which Ridge Holland and Sheamus took on the team of Kofi Kingston and Big E, disaster struck. Professional wrestling is notoriously a dangerous sport, and even those who spend every day performing the same moves, there are occasions in which things can take a turn for the absolute worst, and that happened here.
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Ridge Holland grabbed Big E for a belly-to-belly suplex on the outside of the ring, but the move wasn’t executed properly, and Big E landed right on the top of his head, which seemingly jolted his neck. Big E’s body stiffening up in the direct aftermath indicated that there was a big problem, and he was attended to by medics. He was stretchered out whilst wearing a neck brace. On social media, Big E revealed the extent of his broken neck, stating that he suffered fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae. Thankfully for him, there was some good news when it came to what could have happened to his neck, as his spinal cord was left unharmed.
Big E’s WWE Future Is Uncertain
Aside from some updates here and there on social media which saw him initially sporting a neck brace, up until more recently where he can be now seen in great shape and without a neck brace, there is no real update on when, how, or if he will ever make a comeback to in-ring action. When speaking to ESPN, he discussed the prospect of never competing again after the doctors had made it clear that things were uncertain going forwards, “It's very sobering to hear that," he said. "... I think to be great at something like [pro wrestling], or at least to be competent, you can't spend all your time worrying about possibly fatal injuries or breaking your neck. You have to go out there and be free and in the moment. I think a lot of us as performers don't spend a lot of time thinking about that stuff. I never thought I would be.”
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Of course, fans would love to see Big E make a comeback and perhaps right the wrongs of his booking, but the most important thing is that Big E’s injury wasn’t any worse. His health overall is more important than wrestling, and that will likely be at the top of the priority list when evaluating his condition in the coming months and years. There is also noticeably a void in The New Day without him by the side of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
